Apparatus for the progressive heating or cooling of milk-bottles and other containers



s. M. s. 1m,

APPARATUS FOR THE PROGRESSIVE HEATING OR COOLING OF NHLK BOTTLES ANDOTHER CONTAINERS.

' APPLICATION FILED FEB. 14. 1911.

1,393,717. I Patented Oct. 11,1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

INVENTOR WITNESS W's. M r (,2 J I ATTORNEYS e. M. s. Um.

APPAHATUS FOR THE PROGRESSIVE HEATING 0R COOLING OF MILK BOTTLES ANDOTHER CONTAINERS.

I APPLICATION FILED FEB- I4, I911- 1,393,717.- I Patented Oct. 11, 1921.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

- fivvmmn er mwav M ATTORNEYS WITNESS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GODFREY'M. S. TAIT, OF WASHINGTQN, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

APPARATUS FOR THE PROGRESSIVE HEATING 0R COOLING 0F MILK-BOTTLES- ANDOTHER CONTAINERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 11, 1921.

Application filed February 14, 1917. Serial No. 148,643.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, GODFREY M. S. TArr, a citizen of the United Statesof America, and a resident of Washington, District of Columbia, haveinvented certain new and useful Apparatus for the Progressive Heating orCooling of Milk-Bottles and other Containers, of which the following isa specification.

My invention relates particularly to apparatus for the progressiveheating, or cooling, or both, of milk bottles, preserved fruit orvegetable containers such as cans or jars, etc., but is particularlyintended for the pasteurization or sterilization, and subsequentcooling, of filled milk bottles. My invention comprises a conveyingapparatus, preferably formed of a number ofsimilar units, whichapparatus is of simple and compact construction and comprises a numberof different levels wherein the containers may be subjected to heatingor cooling, or to heating followed by cooling or the reverse, togetherwith means for lowering such bottles or containers from one level to theanother, without spilling of their contents. Other features of myinvention will be pointed out hereinafter.

Each unit of my apparatus comprises two rotary tables, suitablydriven,:together with a flat spiral guide over each such table,

Which guide is stationary; and also comprises a lowering device,commonly of the nature of a helical conveyer, whereby the bottles orother containers may be lowered gently from the higher levelv to thelower level. The bottles or containers are delivered by suitable meansthrough a receiving opening in the upper spiral guide onto the rotarytable beneath that guide and by the motion of the table are carriedthrough the spiral channel of that guide to the central portion of thetable, and thence are deposited upon the said helical lowering device,,and by'that device are delivered, through a receiving opening on thelower spiral guide, to the lower rotatingtable, and bythe motion of,that table are carried through the; spiral chamber of that lower guideto a suitable discharge opening, and thence are carried away by suitablemeans. In the case of multi-stage apparatus embodying my invention theremay be several of these units, and the bottles or containers dischargedfrom one such unit may be carried over to the receiving point of anotherunit and thence carried through that unit and delivered to the receivingpoint of another such unit, and so on; it being practlcable to use asmany units of my a aratus as desired. In my Patent No.1.094,380 datedAprilf21, 1914i, I describe a process of pasteurizing milk in bottleswhich comprises passing the bottles, filled with heated milk, through aheat-retaining chamber, the pasteurization being effected by the heatalready imparted to the milk before the entry into such chamber; whichchamber is of the nature of a so-called tireless cooker. The apparatusherein described is particularly adapted and intended for carrying outthat process, though it may be provided with heating means, and therebymay be adapted for pasteurizing or sterilizing milk or other liquids,received cold, or, at any rate, received at a temperature below theintended pasteurizing or sterilizing temperature.

I will now proceed to describe my invention with reference to theaccompanying drawings, and will thenpoint out the novel features inclaims. In said drawings:

Figure 1 shows, more or less diagrammatically, a central verticalsection of a multi-stage apparatus embodying my invention.

2 shows a top ,view of one of the units of my apparatus, with receivingand deliveringconveyers in cooperative relation therewith.

Fig. 3 shows a vertical section of such unit at a plane at right anglesto the plane of section of Fig. 1, and also shows means for the separatedrive of the several sections of which each table may be composed.Referring first to Fig. 1: A and B, A and B, A and B, and A' and 13",each designate sections of my apparatus, each two sections A and B, Aand B, etc., together constituting (together with the cooperatinglowering device hereinafter mentioned) a unit of my apparatus. Eachsection, A or B, etc, comprises a table. itself preferably composed of aplurality of annular rings 1 and 2 (in the construction shown each tableconsists of two such rings only, but obviously the number of the ringsmay be multiplied indefinitely), which rings are separately driven, butat related speeds, as hereinafter pointed out. Above each such tablegear teeth. A

.speed as the outer center, to. such an extent as B outward.

there is a stationary spiral guide, 3, forming vided with a similarspiral guide 3 forming a number of spiral turns 4 leading .to adischarge opening 11. This conveyer is provided with verticalprojections9' which insure that'the bottles shall be engaged and carried downwardby the conveyer 9, and also prevent the bottles from being upset uponengagement with such conveyer or while traveling down on the conveyer.

Each annular ring, 1 and 2, of the table, is provided near itsperiphery, with a downturned flange 12, provided at its bottom withdriving shaft, 13, is provided with pinions engaging these gear-toothedflanges of the table; from which it' follows that each inner annuluswill be driven at a higher angular speed than the corresponding outerannulus, but at the same peripheral annulus. g y

The reason for forming these tables of a plurality of annular ringsdriven at different angular'speeds is as follows: The bottles or othercontainers to be treated may be re ceived by the apparatus in closesuccession, and if the table were formed in one section only, then owingto the progressive reduction' of linear speed, as the center of thetable is reached, the bottles or other containers may be .crowdedtogether, near the to clog the apparatus. But by constructing the tableof a plurality of annuli, driven at progressively higher angular speeds,toward the center, as the bottles pass from one section of the table toanother, their linear speed is increased, so preventing the V cloggingmentioned.

As the bottles or containers reach the central chamber 6 of the uppersection A, they are depositediupon the helical lowering device, 9,which'carries them down to the table of the lower section B, whence theypass throl'igh the helical chamber of that section In the multi-stageapparatus shown in Fig. 1, the bottles or containers, treated inunitfL-B, are carried by a suitable conveyer 15 into unit A B; throughwhich unit they traverse in the same manner as unit AB; and thence aredelivered by a conveyer 16 to the unit A-'B", and thence by means of aconveyer 17- to the unit A,B, from which they are delivered by aconveyer 18. There is less occasion for 5 to a central chamberfi,

two series of cooling coils being, that the 7 same apparatus is designedto treat both quart and pint sizes of bottles; and when treating quartsizes, both series of cooling. coils will be used ordinarily, while whentreating pint sizes only the lower cooling coils will be usedordinarily. When so desired, the upper sections of the apparatus may beprovided with heating coils 23 and 2% connected to supply and returnlines 25 and 26 through valves27. 7 Of course any number of the sectionsof the apparatus may have cooling coils, and any number of the sectionsof the apparatus may have heating coils; and if there ever be occasion,the coils of the upper sections may becooling coils and those of thelower sections'may be heating coils, or the coils of some intermediatesections of the apparatus may be heating coils, and the upper and lowersections may have cooling coils. p

In a prior application, filed May 3,1915, Serial No. 25,555, I haveclaimed the helical conveyer 9 provided with the projecting guides 9which prevent the bottles from turning over. asthey pass to the conveyer9 or during their transit down the conveyer 9.

What I claim is: p

1.'Apparatus such as described comprising a plurality of superposedrotary tables, a spiral guide above each such table adapted to receivecontainers and during the motion thereof on such tables to guidesuchcontainers ,toward or from the center as the case may be, and meansfor passing such containers from the one table to the other,

comprising means for regulating the speed 7 of passage of the containersfrom the one table to the other.

2. Apparatus such as described compris- -ing a plurality ofunits, one ofsuch units being superposed above another of said units, and a thirdunit being disposed laterally with respect to said first two units, eachunit comprising a plurality'of superposed tables, with spiral'guidesthereabove, each guide adapted to receive containersand by passing thecontainers from the discharge 131 of the upper of the two firstmentioned units, to the receiving portion of the laterally disposedunit, and means for passing the containers from the discharge of thelaterally disposed unit to the receiving portion of the lower of the twofirst mentioned units.

3. Apparatus such as described comprising a plurality of superposedtables, one of which is rotary and one of which has an open center, aspiral guide above such r0- tary table, a helical conveyer leading fromsaid open center and adapted to transfer containers from the one tableto the other, and means for carrying away the containers so transferredto the second table, said spiral conveyer comprising means for holdingthe conveyers upright during their transit from the one table to theother.

4. Apparatus such as described comprising a plurality of superposedtables, the upper of which is rotary and has an open center, a spiralguide above such upper table, adapted to receive containers and duringthe motion thereof on said upper table to guide such containers towardthe open center of the upper table, a helical conveyer leading from saidopen center and adapted to receive conveyer-s so carried to the opencenter of the upper table, and to carry such containers to the lowertable, and means for carrying away the containers so deposited upon thelower table, said helical conveyer comprising means for holding thecontainers upright during their transit from the upper table to thelower table.

Apparatus such as described comprising a rotary table a spiral guide,closed at the top, above such table, and adapted to receive containersand during the motion thereof on such table to guide such containerstoward or from the center according to the direction of rotation of thetable, such spiral guide forming a heat'retaining chamber, and meanswithin such chamber for conveying a heating or cooling fluidtherethrough.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

GODFREY M. S. TAIT. \Vitnesses T. H. YEAGER, F. LYMAN PRATT.

